brendan gets his letter published :D

[brendan]

In response to:

http://www.theage.com.au/national/school-v-school-pms-rule-20080827-441u.html?page=-1
But the principal of Copperfield College in Melbourne's west, Tony Simpson, raised concerns about the reporting push, saying schools already reported on everything from retention rates and VCE results to student satisfaction surveys. Putting too much information into the public domain could damage some schools if it was misused, he said.

I wrote:
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/letters/so-much-for-the-revolution-20080829-452b.html?skin=text-only
ACCORDING to Ken Boston, a one-time NSW director-general of education: "There is a conspiracy of silence and a determination to avoid making public any information which might indicate that one school is more effective than another."

So it's not surprising that the principal of one of the poorest performing schools (The Age, 28/8) would like to have the right to keep parents and the public in the dark about his school's true performance. What else would you expect?

[brendan]

In response to:
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/putting-our-funding-pedal-to-the-medal-20080906-4b4q.html?skin=text-only

I wrote http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/letters/the-choice-should-be-ours-20080913-4fx8.html?skin=text-only

Kimberley Crow's op-ed ("Putting our funding pedal to the medal," 7/9) is another case of special pleading by a lobby group for yet another slice of the taxpayer pie. Just because people value something doesn't mean that the government should force them to pay for it. And if, as Ms Crow suggests, people value sport so much, why the need to use government coercion to force people to pay for it?

Ms Crow ultimately undermines her own argument. For if it is true that Olympic success is impossible without taxpayer funding, then that is simply people voting with their feet. They would rather spend their own money elsewhere, and hence don't value Australian sporting achievement to the extent that Ms Crow suggests.

Without government coercion, people will get what they want rather than what Ms Crow thinks they ought to want. Underlying Ms Crow's whole argument is the assumption that she knows how to spend your money better than you do, which is simply the height of arrogance and paternalism.

[xox.happy1.xox]

You are so inspirational. I wish I wasn't so lazy as to just waste time. You broaden your English skills by getting so many letters published, and in The Age as well, I love that newspaper! Good job on doing this, I like your style of writing also